Tag: street youth

Sox Place is seeking a Social Media Marketing intern who has a heart for the runaways, gutter punks, train hoppers, and street youth that find themselves without shelter in Denver Colorado on a regular basis. Without a desire to show love and grace to people who desperately need it, there is no reason to apply for the Social Media Marketing internship.

Beyond a heart for the street youth and a talent for writing, the ideal candidate has a creative spirit and is missons minded. We’re looking for someone who desires to learn and practice professional social media skills and is thoughtful when interacting with online communities and building relationships. You’ll be tasked with monitoring our various social media platforms, and using a variety of social media tools.

You must be up for various tasks including, but not limited to:

Monitoring social media accounts for engagement opportunities

Creating graphics and content calendars for social media accounts

Conducting research to assist team with new content marketing and campaign opportunities

Assisting with research and writing projects as assigned

Working two days minimum per week

Desired Skills and Experience:

Interest in marketing, communications, journalism, advertising or public relations

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Knowledge of social media management tools

Basic knowledge of WordrPress

Not Mandatory but a benefit to have:

Basic Photography Skills

Basic Video Edititng Skills

Journalism Background

This is an unpaid internship and would be a great opportunity to earn college credit.
Email resume and cover letter to kealareeverts@gmail.com with Social Media Internship in the subject line

“Look after my girl, I don’t care if she ends up with someone else, I want her to be happy, but just make sure she’s okay.”

That night Clark promised that while his buddy was locked away he would keep an eye out for the 17 year old girlfriend the best he knew how. Some time passed and Clark had gotten word that she had been knocked up by a 26 year old heroin dealer who wasn’t ready to be a daddy, and the man had ended up taking a baseball bat to beat her.

Clark arrived at the hospital where he found police officials and the offender discussing the girl who lay helpless on her hospital bed. “Go home and don’t do it again,” said the officer to the dealer. Clark couldn’t believe his ears, how were they not doing anything to bring this guy to justice? It was his duty to take matters into his own hands, and keep his promise. Later, Clark broke into the heroine dealer’s house with a custom made 10 pound hatchet in hand, that later found itself in the side of the man’s head. He then proceeded to tape him from head to toe “mummifying him” where he was later found barely alive. Clark left the house with everything he could sell in order to help pay for the poor girls hospital bills.

Clark (although not his real name) is now 36 years old with a buzzed hair cut and an infectious broken smile that reaches all the way up to his eyes. Years ago he had run into Doyle when he was just 17 at Skyline Park, a couple years before Sox Place was an actual place and before he ever went to prison. Every fiber of his being urges to take care of those around him and he’s ended up serving a life sentence of trying to discover the difference between love and vengeance.

His first case had landed him in prison facing 198 years being charged with everything from aggravated armed robberies to violent crimes. Through a series of court dates and judges, Clark was released after just six years back onto the streets. The first time he was released from prison in 2005 he ran into what is now known as Sox Place. This is where his friendship with Doyle all began. However, he had no idea what that would mean to him so many years down the road.

Lounging on the graffiti covered skate ramp sitting in the corner of the warehouse that is Sox Place, his tattooed hands rest underneath his head as he stares up at the ceiling. Although it appears he is relaxing, Clark sports an ankle bracelet that he has plugged into the nearest outlet, awaiting for it to be fully charged which takes about fifteen minutes.

“When Sox first showed up downtown, the way he was dressed and being an older gentleman, we thought he was down here to kidnap us,” said Clark, “Hell, I was only 17 years old. And most of the kids down here were still younger than me. Once we realized that he was down here not to cause us harm, but to help us, I think that’s about the time that I felt like I could begin trusting him,” said Clark.

Originally he found himself thrust into street living in the summer of 88’ when his step-dad had beaten up his mother one night and Clark tried to kill him. For the same reason that he avenged his friends girlfriend. “To me, I was doing the right thing, my logic was, if you put your hands on her, then I will put my hands on you,” he said.

Where the world is dark and the justice system seems more like a threat than a source of protection, it’s common for street kids to take matters into their own hands. Helping someone usually means hurting someone else, even if it’s themselves. The lines between being a giving person and taking vengeance are blurred, and often times they mean the same thing. “I’ve done things that I do regret but, theres things that given the chance, I would do them again,” he said with a sigh, recalling scene by scene the time he got a ticket for stripping himself naked in order to give someone else dry clothes. “I’d rather help somebody else than myself. Some people tell me that’s what my downfall is, that I don’t try to take care of myself, I try to take care of everybody else first.”

It’s hard to know what a good person is, and what a giving man looks like when you’ve never seen one. Many struggle with not having someone real to look up to or learn from, forcing them to base it off pop culture or what the world tells them. That is, until they meet someone who is willing to show them.

Clark approached Doyle a little while ago asking about a drivers license. “I walked up to him and said ‘If I go find out what I have to do to get my license back…’ he didn’t even let me finish my sentence and Doyle said, ‘yeah let me know what I can do to help you get it back.’ That just shows me that there is good people and Sox and Jordan are how I want to be. I want to be where I can help people like they do. They’ve done so much for me, I want to do it for other people. I talked to Sox the other day when I stayed late and that was the first time I told him about what my uncle did to me. I saw in his face and his eyes how hurt that made him feel.”

Pain, he saw it in Doyle’s reaction just like he saw it all over his mothers face when he broke down at eight years old and told her about what had been going on. “After a couple months of my uncle shooting me up with meth and molesting me, he started bringing friends in. For two years I was passed around from him to his friends to their friends, the whole time I was high as a kite and didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what was going on or that it was wrong, and I didn’t know to tell anybody. As I got older I realized that it wasn’t right. I tried to kill him,” Clark spoke coldly about his uncle.

This resulted in a 30 year long drug addiction to meth and an open door to all the other drugs that he could get his hands on. To be introduced to a drug of that strength at such a young age steered the entire course of Clarks life. At one point he was holding down 15 hour day jobs in construction “I was doing that on drugs like normal people would drink a cup of coffee to go to work,” he said.

Clark has been a slave to drugs for almost all his life. Brothers gone. Sisters gone. Friends gone. Wife gone. They too were slaves, and they died at the hands of their master. Seventeen months clean, but back on the streets, Clark’s eyes are open to the destruction drugs like meth has caused in his circle of friends. Anger, frustration and a lack of hope plague his body like a disease.

“I see people I’ve grown up with and people I consider my family and the shape they’re in because they’re still doing drugs and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to see them that way, it makes me want to slap the shit out of them. In the middle of things Sox and Jordan are down here too. They don’t do this for money, they do it to help and that does make me feel a little bit better. There wasn’t shit like this when I was a kid. Now there’s a bunch of young kids here and they’re doing the same stupid shit we were doing, but the only difference now is that they’ve actually got someone down here trying to help them. And yet, they’re disrespectful,” Clark shakes his head that is covered by a black hat with a white superman symbol embroidered on the front.

Drugs and death run rampant among his friends and family, and he feels responsible for the lives of those that are close to him. One of the most devastating realities he has had to face is that no matter how much Clark puts himself last and his friends first, there’s a good chance that drugs will always win. Most of his life he’s dealt with conflict by fighting fire by throwing himself into the fire and sacrificing his happiness for those around him. Attempting to live like the superman symbol that runs across his hat stands for.

“I’ve made a name for myself down here for being the one who doesn’t care. If you do something wrong, you’re going to know. I’ve been talking to Doyle and what I’ve realized is that it’s not worth being like that anymore. Sox has helped me by sitting down and talking to me and helping me get clean and wanting to stay clean,” said Clark.

Clark has always been trying to do the right thing for the people in his life even if it’s not something that he knows how to do. He’s someone who has felt the backlash of trying to be a hero for the hurting. What he needs is a way out of the way that he’s always used as his way out. He needs hope. He is searching for what is means to be a man, and to be a hero without sending him to prison.

After years of people telling him he can’t be apart of something greater, he’s grown skeptical of the world. Even his relationship with Doyle has found itself hanging by a single thread at times. But it hasn’t ever deterred him from having a deep respect for Doyle and Jordan, instead it’s presented a model of what it looks like to be a giving man. He’s watched for years how Doyle and Jordan have helped so many others and for the first time Clark has someone that he can look to.

If there’s a constant between all the kids I speak with at Sox Place, it’s that they are there for one another. Obviously not everyone gets along, but they each have a web of people that are their “street brothers” or “street sisters.” Many of them have spoke to me about their “street family” and how without them they wouldn’t have made it this long. They realize without community they would die out here. The world is hard, dark and unforgiving. If anyone knows that it’s these guys and girls.

What I love about Sox Place is that the street kids include us in their community, and they feel included in ours. They find family here, they find relationship here. Just like they have their friends who have their backs on the streets, they know that they also have Sox Place and everyone that works here has their back too. If there is a new comer to town it’s not long before they end up walking through those big red doors. “What is this place?” I have been asked countless times by those who have found themselves either stuck in Denver or just traveling through.

As someone who sits in the middle between all our readers, our supporters, and our street kids what I see is one very large community. Do you all know that you too are part of these kids lives on a very personal level? They have their street family, they have Sox Place, these are their resources. When you support us, when you become part of our family then that means these kids also have you. Without your continued support we couldn’t be here for these kids.

I love this because, how often in our day to day lives do we get to engage on a deep and personal level with the people in our lives? I had a friend come to me just last week at the end of her rope. It’s my duty to love her and do what I can to help because she’s part of my community. What if we treated the people we see on a daily basis like we would die without them, and they would die without us?

The truth is without the support of our community, Sox Place couldn’t exist for these kids. I urge you to assess your lives, who is in your community? Do you have people that surround you that have your back, that you can be real with? Someone on your team that you can call at 3 A.M. and know they will be there for you?

That’s what this circle is all about. You’re here for us, we’re here for you, and together we’re here for the kids that are battling the streets and attempting to survive and thrive. So thank you for being on our team, for having our backs! Love you guys.

Have you made your New Years Resolution yet? The first week of January has already spun by, can you believe it? That may mean that you’ve already abandoned those resolutions, or you’re attempting to navigate them the best you can. I didn’t get around to making a list before January 1st but instead I have spent this week trying to figure out what I want to accomplish this year. Should I take up a new hobby, or maybe just try to be better at managing the time I have to focus on the responsibilities I already have?

As a young adult in todays’s world it seems that my attention is being fought for and pulled in every which direction. I remember as a kid hearing adults talk about the days coming and going faster than the year before, but I didn’t understand. As a kid days feel like they take forever to pass. Just the thought of waiting for Christmas to come again seems like it will take a lifetime when you’re a child. When you’re an adult, it’s easy to consider leaving the lights up because you know the Holidays will be here again in a blink of an eye.

As I enter into the new year I have realized it’s important is to imagine who you want to be, imagine the life you want. What do you want your relationships look like? With your kids, with your spouse, with you friends. What does going to work life feel like? Imagine. Here are some goals and resolutions that I have come up with, as a servant of Christ with a heart for his work.

Be Willing to Wait. Sometimes I feel like my prayers fall on deaf ears, or maybe God is simply ignoring me. When I dive into scripture I realize that God can and always will hear my questions, my pleas and cries. I also realize that sometimes he calls his people to wait. When I want things to happen right now, sometimes God is calling for me to be patient. I’m not the first one he has asked to wait on Him. He kept Moses in a desert for 40 years! So my first resolution is really to draw near, be faithful to my Father, and be willing to wait on his plan, and not depend on my own.

Be Kind to Yourself. We’re already surrounded by so much negativity. The news, the neighbors, the grumpy guy next to your cubicle. Take the first step and treat yourself kindly. Realize who you are, discover who God says you are, and begin to kick those negative thoughts. When we love ourselves, we can to begin to love others better. Which brings me to my next resolution.

Be Kind to Others. My mission is to bring Christ’s mission to those that are hungry, broken, and tired. Which is why I find myself at Sox Place on a weekly basis. These kids are not being reached by church on Sundays, but they are on our doorstep every week. Hungry, broken, and tired. I need to remember that I am here to spread the love of Jesus and not for any other reason. Sox Place is not about me, it’s not about Doyle or Jordan, it’s about Jesus.

Slow Down. As mentioned in resolution number one, life can feel like it is spinning by so fast, and sometimes it feels like I can’t get a grasp on my life. My resolution is to find time in my day to slow down and enjoy what’s around me. Find time in the company of others and laugh. Or seek solitude by sipping on your favorite cup of tea and dive into a coloring book or a hobby that you really enjoy.

Learn to Accept Love. Life is harsh, and sometimes we build these walls so high around our hearts we become unable to receive love. We think we’re protecting ourselves. Or maybe we think we’re protecting others. It’s so important for us to realize we’re not the sum of all the bad things we’ve done or of all the bad things that have been done to us. Realize who you are, and be set free from the chains of lies that hold us down and keep us from dreaming.

My resolutions are not just for me and how to live my life, but also how I want to treat others. My ultimate resolution is to help others live this way. Help Sox Place kids learn to accept love and to be kind to themselves and others. To encourage my readers to slow down and be willing to wait for God to move in your lives. My ultimate resolution is to be a safe person where judgment can’t be found but empathy can.

Comment below, I want to hear what all of you are working on this new year! We love you guys and thank you for supporting Sox Place and all our kids that visit us everyday.

We wanted to share the following 9 News article with our readers about the upcoming Colorado Gives Day. It helps explain a bit more in detail about how it works, and how it can absolutely change the entire financial atmosphere of non-profits in your community, for example the Special Olympics listed below in the article shares what it did for them. Colorado Gives Day is a great opportunity to give to your favorite local non-profit and it helps make your gift go further. Please consider us this December 8th as we rely on our gracious supporters to continue to love and walk along side the street kids of Denver.

This is the sixth year of the online-giving campaign that raises tens of millions of dollars for hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout Colorado.

In 2014, Colorado Gives Day raised $26.2 million that was distributed to 1,677 nonprofits in just 24 hours. Organizers expect to exceed that number this year.

Special Olympics Colorado is one of the organizations participating in Colorado Gives Day and the $231,000 it looks to raise next week will impact 4,000 new athletes in our state. Special Olympics Colorado offers programs in nearly every community in Colorado, and they don’t charge fees for athlete and family participation.

To sign up for Colorado Gives Day now, or to find out more about the many organizations that are participating, visit www.coloradogives.org.

If you would like to donate to Sox Place this season please visit our donate page!

Being homeless is not about being lazy or relying on “the system.” Being homeless is not about being scummy, smelly, or dirty. Being homeless is more than just being without a house, because a home is more than a roof over your head. Being homeless is about survival. It prevents 1.7 million young people in the United States from dreaming, experiencing safety and love on a daily basis.

Often I sit down with Doyle in the morning at Sox Place discussing some of the kids that frequently attend, ideas about getting their stories out and God’s role in this ministry. When he recalls specific kids and their stories I can see the tapes rolling in his head as he visualizes past encounters. This time he’s referring to a time when his son Jordan was in grade school.

“The first homeless girl I knew was from Cedar Hill, Texas and went to second grade with Jordan,” Doyle said, “she would hide under the family car from her abusive dad.”

This is where Merriam Webster’s dictionary definition of a home as “One’s residence” doesn’t quite capture what a home really is. If home is just a residence, then being homelessness means being only without a residence, and after working with young adults for fourteen years, Doyle sees home, and homelessness as so much more than a dictionary definition.

“A home should be a residence where there is love, provision, protection, boundaries, correction and safety. There are many more homeless youth and young adults than just the ones who are recognized by our government and statistics in the physical sense.”

Ultimately being homeless is about you and me. It’s our community and those on the streets are our neighbors. So what does it take for you and me to step up and move to make a difference in our communities?

For me it was a one time missions trip to Denver’s Sox Place with a youth group I was involved with a few years back. It set a fire in my soul to make a difference for these kids.

Maybe you don’t know where to start, I urge you to make a trip down here! See and experience first hand what we do. Ask where you can help. This might be financially, physically, or spiritually. We are always praying for financial gifts to help keep our heat on and doors open. When groups or individuals pay us a visit and serve a meal, or donate socks, it means so much to us! Most of all we need to be on your prayer lists. Pray for us, but more importantly pray for our kids. Pray for their survival, pray that they might find freedom, refuge and peace.

As we think about our vote in the upcoming presidential election it brings to mind how we choose things and make decisions about who we serve and support. So my question is this: how would you vote for Sox Place? The snow and wind is coming to downtown Denver with our street youth out there in the cold! It is predicted to be a record snowfall this year and these kids need your help. Your vote for Sox Place and the hundreds we serve each week saves lives and provides support to the street youth like no other place in Denver.

Will you vote for a hot meal, clothes, crisis intervention, and love for those that come every day to Sox Place? Will you vote to keep it open for those that need it most, like locals Danny, G, X, Anchors, Sunshine, Ashley, Marcus, little ones like Deliah, travelers like Scruffy, Scott, Toughy, and Kat? What is the value of Sox Place? It’s the value of the 150,000+ we’ve served in our 13 1/2 year existence!

Right now we need to be able pay for December rent – $4300. God has always supplied through faithful generous people like you, giving to Sox Place. We need your generosity now! I’m asking for people to vote for Sox Place by donating to the mission in the next 2 weeks by providing funding for rent, meals and services to the youth. We pray for abundance to provide for these kids in this season! Thank you!

Sox Place is a non profit drop in center for the street youth in Denver, or for those just passing through. We provide services like a hot meal, clean clothes, and a place to find refuge from the harsh world. If you believe in our mission please donate to keep our doors open for kids that need services like this. Or when you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Sox Place Inc. Bookmark this link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/73-1718252 and support us every time you shop.

This past month has been full, the kind of full that makes you want to just take a nap and hope all the obligations and appointments go away when you wake up. My days fly by reminding me of a game I would play when I was a child. Spinning round and round until the colors were blurred and my feet began to wobble, I recall hitting the ground as I lost complete balance and I would watch as the room would continue to spin and I would wait for my eyes to catch up with the room. I would sit and wait calmly before getting up, for I knew if I stood up too quickly I would just fall back down again.

Do you ever find yourself caught in a storm of a day that leaves your soul spinning, or a week, perhaps even several months at a time? When seasons of “busy” wash on to the shore of your life, where nothing seems to be slowing down, hours seem to pass in a blink of an eye and before you know it you’re playing catch up with life.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

I feel as if the control over my life is slowly slipping through my fingers, and that’s scary, because I don’t know what will happen if I let go. Maybe it’s not a matter of letting go, perhaps it’s a matter of prioritizing.

It’s important to know and understand what should take precedent in life, and for me personally, it’s important to understand what Jesus says about where my priorities need to be. I have my relationship with Christ, fueling hope, to ground me, to keep my world from spinning, but it’s a matter of letting my legs fall and rest in the life of Christ.

Some of the kids here at Sox Place find their grounding in music, art, or hope for money to come, and for some kids, their grounding place is Sox Place, when their life has been flipped, or their tired of traveling. What do you hope for? What grounds you when life begins to spin?

“Hope for the future, hope that I get to be in an apartment again, the hope that at some point I’ll finish my art, my music. My friends keep holding me up, relationships help me stay strong…” said Emmanuel. He had his circumstances changed too quickly, and has now ended up on the streets.

“For three years I had control over my situation and all of a sudden I lost my place and my mother, and it was just too much,” said Emmanuel.

For Brian, another one of our friends, music is what moves him, grounds him, and gives him purpose. He’s always happy to be here and share different songs that he’s working on, even when he only has three strings on his guitar.

“I’ve been playing guitar since I was 10 years old, music is what keeps me hopeful,” said Brian.

When times get dizzying, and hope becomes scarce, Sox Place is here to be a landing place for street kids. A place to find rest and solitude. It’s a place that street kids and travelers can sit and wait for the room to quit spinning, before trying to stand again.

Would you like to help give to Sox Place, but don’t know where to start? Here’s a couple of ways you can benefit our drop in center for street youth in Denver!

Have you ever wondered if the men and women standing on the street corners asking for help, actually need it? I know I have. Their broken down cardboard signs, signed off with a “God Bless” tugs at my heart strings every time. I want to help those that are in need, but how do I know what I donate; money, food, or otherwise is actually going to someone who really needs my help? I know that not all people with signs asking for assistance actually need it, and I also know there’s a lot of people who aren’t asking for help, that actually really need it. So what’s a “giver” to do?

That’s where organizations like Sox Place come in. By providing food, clothing, diapers, dog food, socks, underwear, and other sanitary items to help street kids, Sox Place has become a popular place for the youth on the streets to spend their days. Everyone who attends Sox Place has a story, many have been kicked out of their homes, grew out of the foster care system, or are enduring financial hardship.

Creating meaningful relationships is at the core of what Sox Place does by loving and supporting those that really do need help. I sat down with Nathan, one of our frequent attenders who expressed his gratitude for Sox Place and how it has changed his life.

“This place, is a little more real than some of the other resources in Denver who always make it feel like they have to be there for us, but Sox Place is here because they genuinely want to help us out,” Nathan said. “I’ve come into Sox Place depressed many times, but I always leave feeling like a much better person. There’s always people around here who I know are going through the same things I’m going through. They’re really listening to me and I’m listening to them and we connect. I always end up feeling better about my situation when I leave here.”

Sox Place is here to serve kids that are on the streets, struggling to survive by providing more than just food and clothing. We also provide job training by offering internships to help build a resume for kids that are looking to work.

Interns learn to work hard and manage property

“They gave me an internship, which was really cool, and a great learning experience. Over the past four years Sox Place has given me food when I needed it, a place to sleep during the day and provided me a chance to get to know a lot of people and now I have a family. It’s a really great place to be,” said Nathan.

Nathan’s contagious smile that usually sits spread across his face turned serious as we began to discuss what he really would like from society. It was clear that he’s grateful for the food, clothing and shelter that has been given to him, but the one thing he yearns for, and what continues to bring him back to Sox Place is being treated like a regular human being.

“I would like for society to treat us more like people. Everyday hundreds of people walk down the mall and see a homeless person and just walk on by, avoiding eye contact. They don’t acknowledge us as actual people, they don’t acknowledge us as actual humans, they only see us as HOMELESS PEOPLE and not human beings, and that hurts,” Nathan said, slightly raising his voice full of sincerity.

What makes people in suit and ties better than people in donated or thrifted clothing? What constitutes them to have the right to a happy life, versus kids who have left an abusive home, or the foster care system? I saw the hurt in Nathan’s eyes when we began to talk about the rest of society, that had a safe home to return to.

“The difference between us and them is they have a lot of stuff, so they have this superiority complex, they believe they’re better than us. What they don’t understand is if their house burned down in a fire, they could easily be in the same position we’re in, it could happen to anyone. I didn’t think it would happen to me, and I’m out here,” he said.

Feet taking a break from the harsh world, but in need of socks.

What Nathan brought to my attention was that, having more things doesn’t make you a superior human, and America, and most civilized countries base their worth on profits and consumerism. Homeless, poor, rich, middle class, we’re all humans and more than things, all humans want to be treated as humans, as equals. Loved, accepted, and feeling worth something.

It’s easy to point the blame at society and demand equal treatment to those that are homeless and those that aren’t, but what does that even begin to look like? I was shocked by Nathan’s answer as he began to list things that he noticed, were unfair.

“If we were treated as equals places wouldn’t charge excessive amounts of money to use the bathroom, just because we have no where else to go. We wouldn’t be harassed for having to sleep outside, and we would be allowed to sit down on the mall during daylight hours. There would be no such thing as an urban camping ban,” said Nathan.

I’ve personally never been charged to use a bathroom, I’ve never been harassed for sitting down on the sixteenth street mall on a hot summer day, and this is all due to how I look. I look like I’m not homeless, therefore I don’t get harassed. Next time you encounter a street kid, treat them as your equal.

If you are looking to help those in need, help by donating or supporting organizations like Sox Place, that treat street kids like the equals that they are and provide them with the help they actually need. Volunteer in your communities, when you go out to dinner box up the extra food and find a street kid to feed, donate your clothes to Sox Place or local shelters, or buy a Sox Place shirt which helps fund us and keep our doors open! These are all great ways to get involved and make your community a better place.